Import Duty Fees for Guitar from Moscow? (MIJ guitar)

[maddnotez]

Was curious if anyone on here has bought a guitar from overseas? If so what were the duty fees?

If I am reading the Customs form correctly it should be free if it is an electric guitar. The form is hard for me to read and there was also something that made me think if there was a fee it would be 3.7% which isn't that much for the price I would be paying.

Anyway, just wanted to see if anyone could confirm.

 

[AmpliFIRE]

Was curious if anyone on here has bought a guitar from Japan? If so what were the duty fees?

If I am reading the Customs form correctly it should be free if it is an electric guitar. The form is hard for me to read and there was also something that made me think if there was a fee it would be 3.7% which isn't that much for the price I would be paying.

Anyway, just wanted to see if anyone could confirm.

Yes, there are fees and it's based on value. I think I paid around $100 for a $700 Edwards.

 

[FourT6and2]

I don't know about Japan, but I have a guitar coming from Belgium right now and UPS told me the fees were close to $300...

 

[AmpliFIRE]

I don't know about Japan, but I have a guitar coming from Belgium right now and UPS told me the fees were close to $300...

Yup...it varies by country. I bought a $700 guitar from Korea and paid around $250 in duties

 

[maddnotez]

double post sorry

 

[maddnotez]

The Guitar would be $730 plus $150 shipping from EDIT: The guitar is made in Japan but the seller is in Moscow, Russian Federation Who I think has permanent NTR status. I am unsure if the fee is based off of where the guitar is shipping from or where it was made. (or both)

I couldn't find any free calculators online but I went to the cbp.gov site and was linked to the usitc.gov site.

Chapter 92 is musical instruments but it wasn't very clear and fairly hard for me to read.

Would I be able to call the US Customs office to get an exact quote do you think? Would need to know before hand how much this would be.

 

[Chester Nimitz]

Dewd if you send your money to Russia or China or Africa u may never see it again.

Japan & Canada are the only countries i would even consider dealing with and paypal only.

 

[maddnotez]

Dewd if you send your money to Russia or China or Africa u may never see it again.

Japan & Canada are the only countries i would even consider dealing with and paypal only.

Yeah it is a bit scary. I will say the seller is a guy on Reverb that has 100% feedback from 56 sales and it does include people from the US.

 

[Chester Nimitz]

I don't like "Reverb".

It seems to be trying to take a large share of the Market in a short period of time.

And ive heard alot of people having bad issues buying & selling.

I only try to deal with "Top Rated Sellers" on Ebay with the highest feedback.

They have the most to to lose if something goes Tango Uniform.

Ive done well on both Ebay & local CL the last 9 years.

 

[neilli]

I've shipped Japanese made guitars from the UK to the US and while I thought taxes would be charged (and told the sellers that), neither was. Could have just got lucky though..

 

[maddnotez]

Reverb is the best. eBay sucks.

Agreed.

So I have been doing some research and I think it seems safe. I actually talked to a guy in the US who has bought 3 guitars from the same seller and said no issues at all and would buy from him again any time.

Also he said there have been no customs fees.

 

[FourT6and2]

Look, there seems to be some confusion about import taxes, tariffs and fees through Customs. If you are buying a guitar from some dude in another country, you're ok. Don't worry about high fees.

If you're buying a new guitar from a STORE in another country, that is another story. I've shipped and received guitars and other goods from other countries (both while here in the USA and while abroad). I never had to pay any fees or duties or taxes.

But if you are buying a RETAIL item from a STORE, you will have to deal with customs and fees and taxes and the headache of clearing customs.

The guitar I just bought came from a retail shop in Belgium. It is a new guitar and the shop is a worldwide dealer. But the guitar has been sitting in customs for almost a week, doing nothing. And I will have to pay UPS a brokerage fee, on top of all the actual US customs taxes and such. That's why it will be like $300, I'm sure.

You can "self clear" an item through customs without paying brokerage fees to a carrier like UPS or FedEx. But it's a hassle. And you need to fill out lots of paperwork and present that paperwork at the item's port of call to clear your package.

 

[glip22]

Fedex Priority is awesome. I shipped a guitar to Singapore in three days. I received a guitar from the UK next day. As posted retail store you will incur fees.

 

[metalmaniac93]

Was curious if anyone on here has bought a guitar from Japan? If so what were the duty fees?

If I am reading the Customs form correctly it should be free if it is an electric guitar. The form is hard for me to read and there was also something that made me think if there was a fee it would be 3.7% which isn't that much for the price I would be paying.

Anyway, just wanted to see if anyone could confirm.

Yes, there are fees and it's based on value. I think I paid around $100 for a $700 Edwards.

Me too for an Edwards shipped from Japan.

 

[FourT6and2]

Ugh... I just heard about my guitar.

Customs has "randomly" selected my guitar to check the provenance of the wood. So the store and the manufacturer have to send documentation to US Customs detailing where the wood came from.

 

[maddnotez]

Ugh... I just heard about my guitar.

Customs has "randomly" selected my guitar to check the provenance of the wood. So the store and the manufacturer have to send documentation to US Customs detailing where the wood came from.

Damn the luck.

Sorry to hear, I hate having things in limbo. You'll get it soon though, at least you know it is here.

I do appreciate all the info you and everyone else provided though thanks.

 

[Pushead]

I bought an MIJ guitar from South Africa and paid no duty fees. Not sure why, but there was an agreement on musical instruments between the US and SA. No issues with the sale, except the guitar was so grimy that I thought I might get ebola from it.

 

[FourT6and2]

Woo! Cleared customs.

 

[maddnotez]

I bought an MIJ guitar from South Africa and paid no duty fees. Not sure why, but there was an agreement on musical instruments between the US and SA. No issues with the sale, except the guitar was so grimy that I thought I might get ebola from it.

I bet Ebola has good tone.

Woo! Cleared customs.

Awesome man, congrats to the soon to be NGD.

 

[Pushead]

I bet Ebola has good tone.

I built one of those tents they use when they pull asbestos out of buildings and cleaned the guitar in there while wearing one of those biohazard suits. It's all nice and shiny now.